Dolphins kicker Caleb Sturgis celebrated his 24th birthday in style Friday. The rookie fifth-round pick from Florida, who is locked in a tight battle with veteran Dan Carpenter, kicked a 58-yard field goal in Miami’s 27-3 victory over Jacksonville.

And it wasn’t a surprise to Sturgis that coach Joe Philbin wanted to attempt the kick.

“We did it during OTAs (Organized Team Activities) so it wasn’t a surprise to me,” Sturgis said of the long-distance kick. “We talked before the game, the 40-yard line was the cut-off point and that’s where the ball was so I didn’t think twice.”

It was tied for the third-longest field goal in Dolphins history, and it was the longest kick in Sturgis’ life. His previous best was 56 yards. Not a bad NFL debut.

“The coaches put you out there (so) they’re obviously confident (you) can go do it,” he said. “I always know it’s going to be a great snap and hold, and the line is going to do their job so it’s pretty easy on me.”

That third-quarter field goal gave the Dolphins a 17-3 lead. He later added a 36-yard field goal that increased the lead to 20-3 in the fourth quarter.

On the night Sturgis was 2-for-2 on field goals, 3-for-3 on extra points and four of his six kickoffs were touchbacks.

That’s a great answer to Carpenter, who was 3-for-3 on field goals in the Hall of Fame game and 2-for-2 on extra points with two touchbacks.

You’d think the Dolphins like what they saw from Sturgis for a couple of reasons: Sturgis, who will earn around $441,000 this season, is about $2.3 million cheaper than Carpenter. And Sturgis is younger and stronger.

In fact, Sturgis could be the Dolphins rookie to make the biggest impact this season, even ahead of defensive end Dion Jordan, the No. 3 pick of the draft, cornerback Jamar Taylor, the second-round pick, or cornerback Will Davis, the third-round pick.

Sturgis, by virtue of being a kicker, is in position to get a lot of attention with his field goals and his kickoffs.

But one area where he’ll no longer get attention is his haircut and color. Due to rookie hazing, just a few days ago Sturgis’ hair was a platinum/bronze color that drew comparisons to cartoon characters Johnny Bravo and Jimmy Neutron.

But that’s not the case any longer. The veterans allowed Sturgis to get back to his normal hairstyle and color so he could “try to look professional.”